No one has been jailed on charges in the three slayings, and no motives have been established, Duran said. He said investigators continue looking for and interviewing witnesses in all the cases.

“We have looked at all the cases and we don’t believe these three are related to each other,” Duran said. He said it appears that gangs were involved in the Lincoln Park case, but not in the other two.

Police said Batiste had gotten out of jail the day before he was gunned down on 50th Street in Lincoln Park. He and several other young men were standing in an apartment complex walkway when he was shot about 2:45 p.m. Witnesses saw the other men run. Duran said Batiste was known to police as a gang member, and investigators believe he was shot by a member of his own gang.

That night, a shooting was reported at 8:14 p.m. on 33rd Street in Logan Heights. A pedestrian saw that the victim, Wilson, had been talking to someone in a dark car, then shots were fired from the car and it was driven away, Duran said.

Duran said Wilson, who had a criminal history, was living in a downtown shelter.

On Saturday, White and two male companions finished watching a football game on TV and were in the garage at an Alderly Street home in Encanto just before 8 p.m. when someone in a dark vehicle drove by and opened fire on the three. White was shot in the back, Duran said.

White’s cousin, Taneashia Sudds, 38, of Tacoma, Wash., described him as a well-loved young man.

“He had a lot of medical complications and surgeries after he was born,” Sudds said. “We didn’t know whether he was going to survive. He was so happy, so loving. He was very outgoing, very athletic.”

Pauline Repard • U-T

Suspect in 3 1980s L.A. murders served time for S.D. sex crimes

San Diego

A suspected serial killer charged Monday in the cold-case murders of three women in Los Angeles also preyed on two women in San Diego in the 1980s.

Samuel Little, 72, a career criminal, lived in San Diego in 1984 before moving to Los Angeles. He was convicted in San Diego of rape, assault, unlawfully violating the personal liberty of another by violence, menace, fraud and deceit stemming from incidents on Sept. 27, 1984, and Oct. 25, 1984.

In Los Angeles, he was recently linked by DNA to the deaths of three women, ages 35 to 41, said Los Angeles police Detective Mitzi Roberts. One Los Angeles victim was killed in July 1987, and the other two were found murdered in August and September 1989, Roberts said.

According to San Diego Superior Court records, one of the victims here testified she was grabbed by a man while walking on a downtown street and forced into a car. She was taken to an isolated area where the man forced her into the back seat and choked her when she fought back.

In the second incident in San Diego, a police officer approached a car downtown and saw Little getting out of it zipping his pants. Inside the vehicle, the officer found an unconscious naked woman who said he had raped her and tried to kill her.

Little was sentenced to four years and served 2½ years in prison, Roberts said. Both victims said they feel lucky to be alive, the Los Angeles detective said.

Little, also known as Samuel McDowell, was extradited to Los Angeles in October after being arrested in Louisville, Ky., on a 2009 narcotics warrant, Roberts said.

His DNA matched those on file in two of the L.A. murders and was subsequently matched to the third, she said.

San Diego cold-case detectives do not believe Little is a suspect in any murders here, San Diego homicide Lt. Ernie Herbert said Wednesday.

Debbi Baker & Dana Littlefield • U-T

Man driving stolen car chased by police, arrested in San Diego

downtown San Diego

A suspected car thief was arrested Tuesday night after trying to elude police by speeding the wrong way on city streets.

The man was spotted driving a stolen 2006 Mercedes-Benz 500 about 11:50 p.m. on India Street near West Ash Street, police said.

When officers tried to pull him over, he took off and a short pursuit began. The driver ran red lights and drove with the headlights off, police said.

The chase was called off due to the danger, police said.

The thief ditched the car and was arrested on India Street.

Damari Alexander Morris, 18, was booked into jail on counts including vehicle theft and evading police.

Debbi Baker • U-T

Parolee breaks into home after crash, police chase; he’s arrested

la mesa

A parolee trying to evade police after a head-on crash broke into a La Mesa home Tuesday night and was arrested after he tried to run away.

Police spotted the man speeding in a Saab sedan on Fuerte Drive just before 10 p.m. and tried to pull him over, La Mesa police said. The driver turned on Grossmont Boulevard and collided head-on with a Ford F-150 being driven by a 49-year-old man, police said.

He then got out and ran to a home on Wister Drive, where he broke a window and got inside.

He was confronted by the residents, who pushed him out the front door, police said.

Benjamin Nicholas Davidson, 28, of El Cajon, was booked into jail on counts including hit-and-run and burglary.

The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with a complaint of head pain.